Letter: Teaching Important Lessons

Many in the community may be upset about what they see as harsh measures taken by the Hanover High administration in response to the behavior of some members of the football team at a pre-season party. “Boys will be boys” and, “It was just a joke,” are common sentiments and may even be true — and herein lies the crux of our work. These players likely don’t see the harm in their behavior and the reverberations that come from humiliating teammates and degrading women. It is our responsibility to pay attention to young people when they mess up and make bad decisions, and to provide safe accountability while the behavior is still minor. Not allowing players to believe they are beyond reproach or that they are not responsible for basic human decency are lessons they will carry with them into their adult lives. So is the lesson that this behavior, while perhaps not based in malice, is harmful, and we expect better from them.

As adults invested in the Hanover community and in the work of WISE, you can be voices of support to the administration while it takes heat from students and parents, and to your friends and neighbors who may need a little guidance to see the whole picture.

Hanover — Hanover High School has forfeited this Friday’s football game after a majority of the team’s players were suspended for one game for attending a pre-season party where “egregiously inappropriate” behavior occurred. Police are conducting an investigation of the incident after being notified by school officials, who said they were following a state law that requires administrators to notify …